Food For Thought

VOL 1

food for thought

Sharing the love for food all over Los Angeles

4

We review the best Los Angeles Restaurants

homegrown flavours Media 1 - Santa Monica College

MARCH 2019

Ana Salinas Media 1 March 3rd, 2019

Salt & Straw Review Salt & Straw may be the only ice cream chainlet in the country to claim the kind of ​cult following reserved for ’80s movies or indie bands​.​ Ice cream baron Tyler Malek collaborates with local chefs to concoct head-turning flavor combinations such as “foie s’mores” (toasted foie gras marshmallows and smoked vanilla ice cream ribboned with veal chocolate sauce and hazelnut graham cracker crumble); black olive brittle and goat cheese; and sea urchin meringue with mint. Some of these work, but often simpler is best.

Peppermint-cocoa and Arbequina olive oil are beloved by regulars.

Though the company has three outlets in Portland and two in L.A. (with another on the way), it’s still keeping things real: Every pint is packed by hand.

PRO TIP:​ Skip the legendary lines by buying a pint.

When you finally make it up to the counter at ​Salt & Straw​, even if you already know what you’re going to order, you ​always​ ask for as many ice cream samples as you can get. That’s just how it’s done. There are so many tempting and inventive flavors—and who are we to say no to a free bite of ice cream? Every month there’s a new rotating menu of limited-edition flavors. One of my favorite flavors is Roasted Strawberries & Toasted White Chocolate. There are big chunks of sweet and slightly tart roasted strawberries in every bite of this ice cream. The smooth white chocolate only enhances the bright berry flavor. It’s refreshingly fruity and sweet. I recommend this to all my ice cream lovers, you will love it. ​There are big chunks of sweet and slightly tart roasted strawberries in every bite of this ice cream. The smooth white chocolate only enhances the bright berry flavor. It’s refreshingly fruity and sweet.

Food for Thought Home Food

The Fat Sal wants you to pour gravy on it. Don't insult it with your timidity.

Photo by Steffi Victorioso FOOD Every Fat Sandwich at Fat Sal’s, Ranked These are the times that try men’s sweatpants

By Joe Donatelli -September 19, 2017 I still remember when my buddy John told me about Fat Sal’s. “They make these amazing giant sandwiches,” he said. It was was the way he said it. His tone was, I can’t believe this place exists in L.A. Someone made a restaurant for guys who combine their eating with their not having a sense of shame. You know, guys like us. For anyone like us, Fat Sal’s fills a psychological need. It’s like OK, Los Angeles, you can have all these cold-pressed juice places and your $11 Brussels sprouts, but we get Fat Sal’s. [Waves sword made entirely of bacon at healthy people.] You can pry it from our warm, greasy fingers!

With the local sandwich chain recently expanding from Westwood and Hollywood to Encino, I took a few coworkers to Fat Sal’s where we tried all nine Fat Sandwiches and ranked them for the noble purpose of digital journalism.

5. Fat Texas

BBQ pastrami | brisket | chicken ​fingers | mozzarella sticks| crisp bacon | grilled onions | melted cheddar and mozzarella| fries | mayo | honey BBQ sauce | on a garlic hero Fat Texas PHOTO BY STEFFI VICTORIOSO This is the second-most popular sandwich on the menu because every ingredient it contains is what’s good in life. When you drop in a couple of jalapenos, the Fat Texas goes next level.

4. Fat Jerry

Thinly-sliced ribeye steak | grilled onions | melted American | chicken fingers | mozzarella sticks | crisp bacon | fried egg | fries | mayo | ketchup | salt and pepper | on a hero Fat Jerry PHOTO BY STEFFI VICTORIOSO The Fat Jerry is the quintessential Fat Sandwich and the most popular one on the menu (you thought it was the Fat Sal, but you thought wrong and you should rethink everything you thought you knew about sandwich popularity). The Fat Jerry is co-owner Josh Stone’s go-to.

3. Fat Sal

Roast beef | mozzarella sticks | onion rings| fries | brown gravy | mayo | on a garlic hero Fat Sal PHOTO BY STEFFI VICTORIOSO Co-owner Sal Capek’s go-to is The Fat Sal, with its subtler flavors. No, “Subtler flavors” are not two words I thought I’d write in relation to Fat Sal’s, but, look, our president is a former TV game show host who once used the word “schlonged” as a verb and still got elected so let’s not be shocked by anything anymore, OK? The Fat Sal, with its roast beef, gravy, and garlic hero, has appreciable subtle flavors.

2. Fat Joey

Pastrami | turkey | melted Swiss | cole slaw | fries | Russian dressing | on a hero

Fat Joey PHOTO BY STEFFI VICTORIOSO I tried all of these sandwiches with two other people, and when we got to the Fat Joey I looked around the table like, “Are you guys tasting this? Aren’t you glad none of us died on the way to the restaurant so we could be alive in this moment to stuff this magnificent sandwich into our faces?” No one else shared my enthusiasm. I don’t care. I love this sandwich with a passion that is stronger than mild peer pressure. It would have been No. 1 were it not for the unexpected greatness of the…

1. Fat Banh Mi-Ki

Sweet and spicy soy marinated thinly sliced ribeye steak | Vietnamese pickled vegetables | onion rings | Szechuan slaw | tomato | fresh jalapeños | cilantro | Sriracha | teriyaki glaze | mayo | on a garlic hero Fat Banh Mi-Ki Of all these sandwiches, it’s the most complex. It’s sweet, spicy, savory, tart, crunchy, and creamy. It’s also lacking most of the stunt foods—chicken fingers, mozzarella sticks, fries—found on the other Fat Sandwiches. (Just onion rings.) It noticeably stands out from the rest. The Fat Banh Mi-Ki is like when there’s a group of friends in high school, and they’re always getting in trouble with the authorities, but there’s one guy who’s a little different, a little special, not like the others. He can get out of this devil town if he just believes in his sketch drawings enough to show them to his guidance counselor, because there is beauty and soul and a life force inside him, if only he would stop rejecting himself before the world gets a chance to. Enroll in that community college, Fat Banh Mi-Ki, and never look back

Levy 1

Brendon Levy Media I Professor Charles 6 March 2019

ChinChin ChinChin is a Chinese restaurant located in Beverly Hills, CA. This is a prime location for a restaurant being in Beverly Hills, one can start by having dinner there, and continue the night out at other venues or bars which are close by. The menu offers a wide range of Chinese food selections, where it goes from their amazing peanut noodles, to their impeccable dim sum.

The waitresses and waiters are extremely professional, and seem very knowledgeable about the food and restaurant itself. The restaurant contains both indoor and outdoor seating, so it is a perfect environment for a meal out during any season of the year. Overall, ChinChin would be a perfect place for a business lunch or even a night out when one is looking to seek a quality and authentic Chinese meal.